As the personal computer (PC) has become more prevalent as a mass consumer item, many people have multiple PCs in their houses. With multiple PCs, it becomes desirable to network the computer together for communication with each other. Having the computers connected in a network allows many advantages, including the ability to share a single printer between computers, use a single Internet connection, share files, play games that allow multiple users at different computers, and send the output of a device like a DVD player or Webcam to the other computer(s).
A networking approach that utilizes phone lines within a home has been developed based on the specifications of the Home Phoneline Networking Alliance (HPNA) to achieve such communication among multiple computers within a home environment. The HomePNA, as it is commonly called, is regarded generally as easy to install, inexpensive and fast, without requiring any additional wiring, since the phone lines already present in the home are used. HomePNA operates using a method known as Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), which allows voice and data to travel on the same wires without interfering with each other, since a standard phone line has enough room to support voice, a high-speed DSL modem, and a home phone line network.
The original version of the HPNA standard, HPNA 1.0, operated at a 1 Mbps (megabits per second) communication rate standard. The current specification, HPNA 2.0, is based on technology that operates at a faster 10 Mbps communication rate standard. In order to support both standards in a single device requires some special considerations.
For example, given the variety of stations capable of being connected to an HPNA network, diagnostics testing of each possible arrangement to ensure proper functioning becomes difficult. Accordingly, a need exists for a technique that allows localized diagnostics testing of a network state machine within an HPNA network. The present invention addresses such a need.